Improvement in car-brakes



2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

S. P. LITTLYEFIE'LD.

Car-Brakes.

.Patented lune 29,1875.

No. l65,008.

THE GRAPHIC C0.PHOTDLITH.39&41 PARK PLACEJLY.

2 Sheets--Shet 2. S. P. LITTLEFIELD. Ca'r-Brakes,

Patented June 29,1875.

Enya. 0'

THE GRAPHIC CDPHOTO-LITHSBUH PARK PLAGE,N.Y.

' platform a and truck-frame b, is

- with two barrels, e f,

. chain, n. the barrel f and wound around such, extends narran Srafrns@nanna Grafen.

SILAS P. LITTLEFl-ELD, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 165,008-, dated J une29, 1875 application filed May 22, 1875.

To all whom -ztmag/ concern Be it known that l, SILAs P. LITTLEFIELD, ofLynn, of the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, 'have inventeda new and usefullmprovement in BrakeMechanism for Railway-Garriages; anddo hereby declare the same to be fully described in the followingspecification and represented in the accompanying drawings', of Which-Figure 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 an nnder-side view, Fig. 3 alongitudinal section, and Figs. 4and 5 inner end elevations, of tworailway-cars provided with my invention.

My invention has for its object the setting up simultaneously of all thebrakes of the carriages of a train; also, to prevent any car or cars ofthe train, on becoming accidentally detached from the rest of it, from'running backward down a grade.

In the drawings, A denotes one carriage, and B the other, they beingsupposed to be provided with ordinary couplings for connecting themtogether end to endl Extending longitudinally of the car A, and

between its a shaft, C, duly supported in bearings c d, and provided anda male screw, g, all being arranged as shown. On the screw is a nut, h,jointed to a bifurcated arm, c', which at its rear end is jointed to theupper end of a lever, k, pivoted to one of the brake-bars ZZ, andconnected to the other by a rod, m, all being as shown. By revolving theshaft C 011e Way the brakes will be set up to the wheels, and by turningit the opposite way they will be moved away from the wheels, the backrevolution of the shaft being effected by a spring,

n, connected with the barrel by a rope or Another rope or chain, o,fixed to therefrom around a guide-wheel, p, and thence to and is fixedto anupright shaft, q, provided with a hand-wheel, r, and aratchet-wheel, s. On revolving the shaft q, the shaft G will be turnedso as to cause the brakes to be set up to the wheels. To the front endof the shaft C a pointed spindle, t, is connected by a universal joint,a, the said spindle having a grooved disk, u2, fixed on it. The spindleis held up by a stirrup o, which encompasses the disk. 'The stirrupprojects downward from a horizontal rod, w, that goes loosely throughsupports or eyes x y, and two springs, z al, arranged on it, and withsaid supports, as shown. The said means of supporting the spindleviz.,by the disk, the stirrup, the rod, and its springs-enable it to movelaterally' or up or down, or accommodate itself to the lateral orvertical movements of the cars. There is jointed to the disk u2 andarranged with it, as shown, a catch-lever, bl,- between Whose rear armand the spindle is a spring, c1, that operates to press upward the reararm of the lever, in order to force the front arm thereof into a socketor groove, c2, made lengthwise in the upper part of the spindle. In rearof thelever b1, and applied to the spindle, so as to slide on it, is acup, d1, provided with a system of levers, el fl, to move it on thespindle. While being moved forward or toward the Vpoint of the spindle,the cup so acts on the rear a-rin of the catch-lever b1 as to depressit, and consequently force upward the front arm of said lever. The saidspindle is to co-operate with a tubular spindle, g', connected byanniversal joint, h1, with a shaft, O', arranged with the next ear, andapplied thereto as the shaft C is to itscar. The tubular spindleisslotted lengthwise, as shown at 1, the slot being to receive the latchof 'the first-named spindle when thetwo spindles are in conjunction; Thespindle g1 is upheld by means like those by which the fellow spindle issupported. The

shaft c1 is provided with three barrels, k1 Z1 m1, the first of whichhas a rope or chain, al, fixed to, wound around it, and led around aguidewheel to a hand-Wheel shaft, o1. The barrel m1 has a rope or chain,p, connecting it with a spring, q1, which serves to effect backrevolution of the shaft O'.

Fig. 6 is an outer end elevation of the car.

To the middle barrel Z1 a rope or chain, r', is fixed, it being woundaround the barrel, and thence led over a guide-roller, s', and down to abarrel, t', arrau ged upon the rear axle a3 of the truck of the car B.The barrel t turns freely on the axle, and it has at each of its ends aratchet or catch wheel, o or w. To operate with these ratchets are twocatch-pawls, w y', Figs. 7 and 8 representing sections of such pawls andratchets.

Each pawl is pivoted to one of two short shafts, z a2, supported in armsb2 b2, projecting from the axle. rIhere is on each of such shafts anarm, c2, arranged as shown, and provided with a wedge-shaped tooth, cl2,extended into one of two tapering cups, e2 f2, arranged as representedand to slide on the axle.

A furcated slide, q2, projected into grooves in the cups, and arrangedas shown, has a system of levers, h2 i2, applied to it and thetruckframe, to enable it to be moved so as to carry either of the cupsup the wedge-teeth of the pawl next to it.

Fixed to each of the short shafts z a2, and to one of the nextcontiguous arms, is a spring, .702, whose purpose is to throw the pawlout of action upon the ratchet-wheel.

Each pawl turns freely on its shaft, but is pressed toward the ratchetby an auxiliary spring, l2, fixed to the shaft or to a head, m2,attached thereto.

When the cars come together for being coupled, the spindles interlock,so as to couple the two shafts C C in such manner that when one isturned, both will revolve simultaneously. Now, if to each shaft and thebrakes of its car, there be a screw, g, a nut, h, a furcated arm, i, alever, k, abarrel, e, and spring n, the two latter being connected by achain or rope, n', all as hereinbefore explained with reference to thecar A, in setting up the brakes of one car, those of all the others ofthe train will be simultaneously and in like manner moved up to theirwheels. On the cars being nncoupled and drawn apart, the spindlesreadily separate from each other.

rEhe object of the slide-cup cl and its levers el f1 is to move thecatch-lever b outward, and so hold it as to enable the shaft c torevolve independently of the shaft cl, in order for the brakes of onecar to be let off 7 while those -of the other are up to their wheel oroff the same, as the case may be.

1n case of the rear car, or any car of the train, becoming accidentallyuncoupled from that one next in advance, and running back down a grade,the wheels having their motion reversed, the rear axle will be revolvedin a direction contrary to what it does when the car moves forward, invwhich case the axle will canse one of the pawls to so act on itsratchet as to revolve the barrel at the middle of the axle, in a mannerto wind the rope or chain thereon, and thereby cause the shaft cl to berevolved in a way to'effect the setting of the brakes up to the wheels,and thus stop the carriage from running down the grade. The other pawland ratchet are to enablesuch effect to .take place in case the ear isbeing drawn in an opposite direction. The brakelnan, by means of thelever 112, moves the slide Q2, so as to set one or the other of the cupse2 f2 upto its pawl-arm, as may be required.

1, In combination with the shafts c c1 and their coupling-spindles t gf,provided with a catch-lever, and constructed'substantially as described,the spring cl, the slide-cup d1, and the system of levers el f1, appliedto the spindle t and the truck, as set forth.

2. The spring n and its chain or cord n', in combination with the shaftc, provided with mechanism, as described, for setting the brakes up tothe wheels, such mechanism consisting of the rod m, lever 7c, furcatedarm i, nut h, screw g, barrel e, chain or rope o, barrel f, and thehand-wheel shaft q.

3. In combination with the shaft C and the car-wheel axle, the mechanismapplied thereto for revolving the shaft c1, to ei'ect stopping the carou a descending grade, such mechanism consisting of the barrel t', itsratchetso w', the pawls w y', and the mechanism, as described, forthrowing either pawl into or out of action with its ratchet, this lattermechanism being the shafts z a2, arms c2, teeth d2, cups 62]2, slide q2,levers h2 2, and springs 7a2 l2, all being arranged and appliedsubstantially as specified. y

- SILAS P. LITTLEFIELD. Witnesses:y

R. H. EDDY, J. R. Snow.

